''Wedding in White'' is a 1972 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written and directed by

William Fruet William Fruet (born January 1, 1933) is a Canadian film and television director, playwright and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the drama '' Wedding in White'' (1972), based on a play he had also written. The film won Best Picture ...

, based on his earlier play. The film stars

Carol Kane Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952) is an American actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as '' Hester Street'' (for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress), '' Dog Day Afternoon'', ''Annie ...

, Donald Pleasence, Doris Petrie, Doug McGrath, and Paul Bradley.

Synopsis

Set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, in a small (unnamed)

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

community, the film stars

as Jeannie Dougall, a teenager who is

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

d by Billy ( Doug McGrath), a friend of her brother Jimmie's ( Paul Bradley), while the two men are home on

furlough A furlough (; from nl, verlof, " leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be ...

. She subsequently struggles against the harsh and cruel reaction of her parents Jim and Mary ( Donald Pleasence and Doris Petrie) when she discovers that the incident has left her

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

; Jim's proposed solution to the dilemma is to marry Jeannie off to Sandy (Leo Phillips), an old army friend of his who is in his 60s. The play and film were inspired by a real woman Fruet met in his youth, who had been forced to marry an older man by her parents in the same circumstances.

Awards

''Wedding in White'' and ''

Réjeanne Padovani ''Réjeanne Padovani'' is a Canadian drama film from Quebec, written and directed by Denys Arcand and released in 1973. It was his second narrative feature film as a director, but the first for which he was also the screenwriter. An examination of ...

'' were the only two Canadian films screened at the

1973 Cannes Film Festival The 26th Cannes Film Festival was held from 10 to 25 May 1973. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to ''Scarecrow'' by Jerry Schatzberg and ''The Hireling'' by Alan Bridges. At this festival two new non-competitive sections were ...

."Le Monde calls Quebec film finest at Cannes". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', May 17, 1973. The film won the Canadian Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1972. It was later screened at the 1984 Festival of Festivals as part of Front & Centre, a special retrospective program of artistically and culturally significant films from throughout the history of Canadian cinema.

Carole Corbeil Carole Corbeil (1952 – 2000) was a Canadian arts critic and novelist.John Levesque, "Voice-Over a smash success". '' Hamilton Spectator'', May 9, 1992. Born in Montreal to Québécois parents, her writing was often informed by the cultural di ...

, "The stars are coming out for Toronto's film festival". ''

'', September 6, 1984.

References

External links

* {{William Fruet 1972 films 1972 drama films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films based on Canadian plays Films directed by William Fruet Films set in Ontario Films set in the 1940s Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Films about rape 1970s English-language films 1972 directorial debut films 1970s Canadian films